Summary
- Veep Season 6 lacks the compelling plot and jeopardy of other seasons, focusing on Selina's attempts to regain relevance.
- Veep Season 1 showcases Julia Louis-Dreyfus's effortless charisma but lacks some key characters that make the show impactful.
- Veep Season 2 delivers on the show's premise of the Vice Presidency and introduces memorable side characters, setting up major plot developments.
Each season of Armando Iannucci's D.C. satire best TV characters of recent years. Veep ran for seven seasons in total, and although it remained fairly consistent, the different plots and recurring characters mean that some seasons boasted even more quality than usual.
Veep built a reputation for its rich cast of characters and its frantic lampooning of the American political system, earning its stop among the best HBO shows. Veep had more than one way to make audiences laugh, but the show also revealed a deeper side to its characters, presenting them as tragic heroes all chewed up by the toxic culture of politics. The show was at its best when it could blend its signature fast-paced comedy with a helping of pure human misery. This formula created some unforgettable seasons of TV.
7 Veep Season 6
2017
Selina Meyer lacks direction after she is ousted from the White House, and the same can be said for Veep season 6. The season follows Selina's attempts to cement her legacy in a world that stopped caring about her a while ago. She enlists Mike to help her write her memoir and tries to establish a presidential library to mimic her predecessors.
20 Best TV Actors Of All Time Ranked
In the Golden Age of television, great performances are fairly common. But who were the performers that built the foundation for acting as we know it?
The season still has some great comedic moments, but the overall plot isn't as compelling as other seasons. The storyline sets up Selina's presidential campaign in season 7, but there's not much jeopardy or intrigue otherwise. The contradiction between Mike's incompetence and Leon's killer instinct acts as a perfect dichotomy between good and bad modern journalism. The other highlight of the season is Jonah's transition from an obnoxious creep to Veep's most diabolical villain.
6 Veep Season 1
2012
Veep's first season had a supremely confident feel to it. Creator Armando Iannucci had already honed his voice as a satirist with his British series The Thick of It, and his style transitioned over to American politics flawlessly. Selina starts out as a completely impotent Vice President, but the show sets up her ing cast and her ruthless ambition very well.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes the show work with effortless charisma, even sparking a debate over how Selina Meyer compares to Elaine Benes, her other iconic TV character from Seinfeld. Despite Louis-Dreyfus' performance, Veep's first season didn't yet have all the pieces in place. Characters who made the show what it is are conspicuously absent. Kent, Richard, and Ben are all missing. Without them, Veep lacks its usual punch.
5 Veep Season 2
2013
With most of the show's main cast in place, season 2 delivers on Veep's initial premise better than any other season. Before Selina runs for President, the show is about the strange position of Vice President and the desperate ways in which Selina tries to access greater influence and popularity. Veep season 2 has more of a thrust than the first, with the hostage crisis in Uzbekistan driving the plot throughout.
Season 2 also sees the show start to introduce more memorable side characters, like Finnish Prime Minister Minna Häkkinen. Minna is a great example of how a global leader should act, and Selina despises her. Selina lies about the Uzbekistan situation because it sounds true, and this causes her popularity to skyrocket. Selina's realization that Washington rewards dishonesty leads her to run for President in season 3, setting up a major turn for the show and changing the series forever.
4 Veep Season 3
2014
Veep starts to really hit its stride with Selina out on the campaign trail. The show had such a keen eye for American political machinations that it managed to satirize the 2016 presidential primaries a year before they even happened. Kent and Ben are given the chance to do what they do best on the campaign, even if Selina's relationship with her personal trainer and Jonah's Ryantology blog throw everything off balance.
Season 3 marks a high point for Dan and Amy's squabbling, with each trying to stab the other in the back for the role of campaign manager. The campaign also brings Veep's most lovable character Richard Splett into the fold. He was initially supposed to be a guest star, but Sam Richardson's performance rewrote the entire show. Richard provides a naive sense of morality in a political world consumed by greed and subterfuge.
3 Veep Season 7
2019
Veep's final season is three episodes shorter than the others, but it makes up for it with an incredibly satisfying ending. Selina is willing to sacrifice everything for one more stint in the White House, even her most loyal ally Gary. Season 7 returns to the political campaigning that provided the show's best moments, but it ramps up the tension with Jonah also running for president and Selina's entire team scrambling for their political survival like never before.
The season finale sticks the landing expertly, even Tony Hale, who played Gary, wants to see more. In the end, the system corrupts everyone. All except for Richard Splett, whose unlikely future as a beloved two-term President shows that there may be hope for the soul of American politics after all. Season 7 manages to provide appropriate endings for every one of its main characters, like when Kent eschews the polling numbers in favor of common sense and decency.
2 Veep Season 4
2014
The final two episodes of Veep season 4 transform it from a good season into a great one. Episode 9, "Testimony", sees Selina's staffers at a congressional hearing, desperately trying to cover their own tracks. Episode 10, "Election Night", follows this up with absurdist political satire, as the electoral college ends up split perfectly down the middle. The episodes take on completely different styles, with "Testimony" looking like a C-SPAN broadcast, but they stand out as two of the best episodes in the show's run.
The other highlights of season 4 include Patton Oswalt as the vulgar chief of staff Teddy, and the introduction of Hugh Laurie as Tom James. Tom becomes Selina's running mate and his charm quickly overshadows her. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hugh Laurie make a superb duo. His smug act perfectly stokes her trademark comedic rage, and their dynamic takes over the entire season.
1 Veep Season 5
2016
The absurd premise of Veep season 5 sets up a remarkable string of episodes as Selina's team tries to dispute the election results and worm their way back into power. Selina's relationship with her dying mother reveals a lot more about her backstory, although this is quickly brushed aside when attention turns back to how the situation could affect her poll numbers. Season 5 shows Veep at its best, combining scathing satire with character-driven humor.
Amy's investigation into which of Selina's staffers described her with a derogatory word behind her back is a particular highlight, as is Jonah's campaign, led by his foul-mouthed uncle Jeff. The standout episode is undoubtedly episode 9, "Kissing Your Sister", which shows Catherine's documentary. Its mockumentary style is perfect for Selina's duplicitous team. Toward the end of the show's best season, "Kissing Your Sister" makes a claim as the best episode of Veep overall.
